Evil of the Doctor
by Captain Sigma - Karry Beta
Summary: When the Doctors past and present are summoned back to Gallifrey, they are told their past is in danger - can they save themselves before the darkness of a new past corrodes their souls and changes who they are in their very core...? Featuring Doctors 6 to 12, including 10, and War along with River Song, Clara, Donna, Jack Harkness, Charley Pollard, Ace, Hex, Melanie Bush and more!
1. The Light at the Start - Part 1

_Author's Note:_ _So, I'm aware I have two incomplete FanFictions, for both I apologise – I may return to_ Highwayman _just to finish it off, but due to the nature of_ Deception _I cannot continue it. It is what it is and I apologise. Now on to this story. Back in 2014 I came up with the idea of this Multi-Doctor story on the forum I miraculously still roleplay on; it started fantastically but died a quick death due to… you know, I still have no idea. So taking those starting posts from that forum topic, I've decided to weave in a new story and complete it myself without other's input. This first chapter (or part of one), in fact is completely re-written from the original posts, especially as Twelve was extremely fresh back in 2014 and this topic starts a day after_ The Husbands of River Song _ended. Please note, though, that despite being a Multi-Doctor story, this contains mainly the latter Classic Doctors (Six, Seven, Eight and War) and all bar the Tenth Doctor for New Who. Why no Tenth Doctor? Because I don't want a story revolving around that Puppy Dog – he's a great Doctor, but he's too loved and this allows the other, lesser loved Doctors a chance, especially Nine, even if it's just through my own making. Don't like that? Well tough. Right! Now that I've written all this info in this Author's Note segment, I hope you enjoy the actual story! Will hope to update every Friday and please_ _review_ _– it's nice to know I have some audience._

 _Disclaimer:_ _I do not own any of the characters from Doctor Who or Big Finish, although I wish I did!_

* * *

 **Chapter One - The Light at the Start, Part 1.**

Twenty-four years. They had barely lasted twenty-four hours on Darillium before the boredom set in and both were eying the TARDIS from afar, longingly.

The Doctor knew that once this date was over, that would be it. River Song would leave and he'd never see her again; oh she would have plenty more encounters with him, in his past, but never, until the day she met his tenth incarnation for the first time, would she truly realise his dilemma here on the planet of the Singing Towers.

River Song, on the other hand, suspected more than she let on but for once was cautious of what had to be said, and only when she could no longer drag out the ever-lasting night with her husband did she finally voice what was going on in her head.

"You know… just because the night lasts a very long time here, doesn't mean we have to actually _stay_ here. Practically speaking" she held the alluring, mischievous tone the Doctor liked so much.

His strangely large eyebrows raised in momentary confusion, he looking over the table to her as he cocked his head, contemplating what she meant.

"Twenty-four years" River Song almost sang. "Imagine what we can do in that time, across time, space and who knows where else" she couldn't help but grin smugly, the Doctor it seemed catching on as he shared the smile.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, his tone as playful as hers, the Scottish accent helping.

"Oh, you know – anywhere" she stated, jumping to her feet now, taking the Doctor's hand so he joined her, "I do know of a fantastic restaurant in deep space; some lovely robot butlers…"

"I think I've had my fair share of restaurants" the Doctor muttered, they now passing the maitre d who raised a quizzical eyebrow to which he gave an apologetic glance, not having the time to apologise as River Song threw open the doors to the TARDIS, still parked in the waiting area, and pulled him in.

"How about another visit to Jim the Fish?" River Song now suggested as she moved to the console, the Doctor closing the doors behind himself as he looked up at her, his smirk remaining.

"I don't think twenty-four years is enough time to cover Jim the Fish. Again" he commented darkly as he moved to the console, a frown now forming across his eyebrows, noting that River had stopped. "What is it?" he asked, cautiously.

"Gallifrey" was all River responded, looking over to the Doctor, concerned. "You saved it?"

"Someone did" the Doctor moved over to River, sparing a glance to what she could see. "Oh. This is a message from the past" he added, his eyes falling on the small blinking LED light, looking out of place on modern console.

"The past?" River queried, this beyond her knowledge of the TARDIS, space and time.

"A message from a past President, before the Time War, or at least before the Time War became what it was. I don't think I can ignore this, River. I think our twenty-four years might just have to wait."

"That's perfectly fine Sweetie" River took the Doctor's hand now as she forced him to look at her. "I'm with you, no matter what. Off the record" she winked, indicating this was one diary entry she wouldn't be making.

* * *

"Okay, _not_ funny!"

Clara Oswald stormed into the empty console room, glaring at the central console like all she wanted to do was hit it.

"I was in the bath! How can you tip me out?!"

Indeed, she looked rather damp and disheveled, with a large bath towel wrapped tightly around her figure as she now marched up to the console and actually did punch it, the console making an innocent bleep of complaint back in her direction.

"It's not fair you know," Clara continued her rant, "The Doctor went out of his way to find me, I still don't know why, and all you can do is throw me out of baths or move my room, or displace me in your internal time in protest! It's not like I'm the first woman he's brought on board - you showed me them yourself. That redhead with the legs..." she added in dark mutterings as the console bleeped in reply. "Oh don't act all innocent!" Clara spat angrily.

Just at that moment an internal door opened, Clara spinning around, half expecting to see her future self again in some sort of TARDIS time-trap, when instead she was met by the Doctor. Her Doctor. Admittedly all legs himself but also with a charming quiff, strong jaw and attractively sunken eyes. She'd always thought he looked almost angelic in appearance, but that might have had something to do with him turning up on her doorstep dressed as monk upon his first arrival.

"Clara there you - oh!" He suddenly threw a hand up to his eyes and stopped on the spot. "You never said anything about dressing down" he complained, now feeling his way down to the console with his eyes covered.

Clara almost laughed as she sighed "It's okay Doctor, I'm all covered up. If you want to complain, then direct your arguments to the TARDIS - it was the one who threw me out of the bath."

"She, Clara, _she_!" The Doctor corrected her, ignoring everything else she'd said as he bound over to the console, Clara rolling her eyes, as he began to caress one of the panels. "What's naughty Clara done to you this time?" he crooned.

"Me?! I haven't done anything, it's _her_ who -" Clara started to protest, but he waved her silent.

"This wasn't here earlier" he muttered audibly, his tone now completely different, "this light Clara, did you notice it?" he pointed to the small LED flashing insistently on the panel he was by.

"It's your TARDIS" Clara shrugged, joining him a little reluctantly by the light "how am I to know every little light you have on here...?"

"No, it's not that" he muttered thoughtfully, thinking. He closed his eyes as he searched, telekinetically, through the meaning of the light. Suddenly his blues snapped open as he gasped.

"What is it?!" Clara asked quickly, grabbing his nearest hand, all pretenses of annoyance gone now as she turned him to look at her, shocked to see both the deep sorrow and joy reflected back at her.

"Put some clothes on Clara" his voice quivered slightly, but he'd already started pulling himself away from her, getting manic quickly as he set coordinates and removed the break. "We're going home!" he finally added, the grin overwhelming the sorrow he felt within as he added, more quietly and for conformation to his latest companion: "Well, _my_ home anyway."

* * *

"You know, if I were her I'd let the dust settle before heading back into battle" Captain Jack Harkness couldn't hold off his opinion any longer and had only spoken the moment the doors closed behind Rose Tyler.

"Well then it's a good thing you're not her" the Doctor pointed out, now leaning against the railing leading from the doors to the console platform, glancing absently somewhere just above Jack's right shoulder, contemplating.

"What?" Jack enquired, the silence passing between them strangely deafening.

"I was just thinking..." The Doctor's voice was faint, thoughtful as he continued, Jack not yet forcing him to go on, "did we do the right thing? Making Margaret Slitheen -"

"Yes" Jack replied firmly, his eyes locked onto the Doctor's. "We've gone through this, it was the most humane thing you could do, her other punishment -"

"But the people of Raxacoricofallapatorius will never get answers, never realising that one of the Slitheen family is growing up under their very... well, whatever they have for noses" the Doctor pointed out.

"It's better than death" Jack responded firmly, adding to back up his claim: "This isn't the Time War, anymore."

"I know that!" The Doctor snapped back angrily, he now looking away from the Captain and back to the central console.

Throwing himself from the railings with an angry grunt now, ignoring Jack completely he stomped to the console, looking over what he could, distracting himself with what he could, when he stopped. "That's new..." he muttered, almost inaudibly.

Cautiously moving over to the Doctor, Jack asked simply "What's new?" before he realised exactly what that was - a small LED was flashing on the mismatched assemblage of things that made up the controls. "Huh. I wonder why the TARDIS made that?" Jack asked, glad of a new subject.

But the Doctor wasn't listening; he'd placed a finger on the light as if to cover it from sight and had an odd, glazed, expression on his face.

"Doctor?" Jack was now worried for the Timelord.

"We need to go. Right now!" the Doctor had a troubled look on his face and Jack dared not countermand the statement, the Timelord flying around the console in a more manic expression of his normal self.

"Wait, what about Rose? We can't just leave her!" Jack remembered, worried.

"We don't have time to wait for her - oh the irony! - but she'll never know we were gone. I had a whole run-in of adventures between the time I first met her and the time she actually joined me."

"Right" Jack responded, almost dully as another question sprang to mind, the Doctor with his hand on a lever. "Where are we going anyway? Was that light a message?"

"To answer those questions in reverse Captain" the Doctor threw the screen around to face him, confirming what he already knew, "it was tether. A rope to pull me back into the past - to _Gallifrey's_ past!" he was grinning now as he threw the lever down, the TARDIS starting up instantly.

Jack responded with an almost comical gasp.


	2. The Light at the Start - Part 2

_A/N:_ _Okay, I know I was going to update every Friday, but I wanted to spoil with a bonus post-weekend chapter. And yes, I also know I said I wasn't going to, but I have to admit the Tenth Doctor brings in an audience, so while I'm not below admitting I wasn't going to include him, I'm happy enough to have him with Donna. Hope you guys like! Also, a huge shout-out to fellow FanFictioner and Roleplayer_ _Adlai Stevenson_ _who basically wrote everything for the War Doctor below in his first post for the forum this is taken from. He wasn't around for long, but by Rassilon when he turned up his posts were fantastic – I only hope I can live up to them later._

 _Disclaimer:_ _As per usual, I own nothing. Sad but true._

* * *

 **Chapter One - The Light at the Start, Part 2.**

He didn't bound back into the TARDIS this time, but he didn't wait for his companion either. Already moving around the console, he didn't look up as he heard her mutter the words "Thank you" from near the door.

Looking up for a moment to see her leaning against one of the pillars, he simply replied "Yeah" as he tried to distract himself, he didn't want to talk about what just happened. She moved closer however as he realised, looking back up at her "you were right. Sometimes I need someone. Welcome aboard" he smiled meekly at Donna Noble, admittedly glad to have her on board. It had been lonely since Martha left and after Astrid… well.

"Yeah" Donna replied, the ghost of a smile on her face, the invitation not taken for granted as the smile turned into an accepting laugh as he pulled a lever, dematrialising the TARDIS from Pompeii, from the destruction and the only family they had saved. He moved around her, unable to hide both his joy at having someone to share his adventures with, but also his sadness at what they had just witnessed.

These were moods that were quenched when he spotted it. He had known it was coming, somehow, from the recesses of his buried memories but he had hoped it wasn't yet. The light that had formed on the console, that he hadn't seen when distracted by what they just been through.

"Doctor. What is it?" Donna had turned with him, facing him now as he stood still as a statue, staring at the console.

"You know what my life is like" he voiced, not looking at her now as he remained staring at the light, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Some of it, yeah, I mean…" she waved a hand to the doors, indicating what they had just come from, where they could possibly be going now.

"Well, it's now or never then" the Doctor grimaced, looking to her now as he moved away from the panel segment, Donna taking his place to find what had distracted him as he reset co-ordinates, input the new ones given telepathically from the light and then looked up, staring Donna down as she raised an eyebrow defiantly. "From Pompeii to Gallifrey" he told her, striking down the lever again as the TARDIS groaned more passionately, Donna unsure of what he meant. She would soon find out.

* * *

"Commander? Sir?"

Florence, Italy, sometime in the Spring of 1946. A young woman much older than she looked and an old man much younger than he led the former to believe sat at a cafe table beside a low, stone wall on the riverside.

The old man, otherwise known as the Doctor, didn't look to his younger counterpart, but his weary, age-old blues lit up at the mention of one of his newly-acquired titles. While he wasn't exactly used to the official-sounding rank, he knew he hadn't given the young Timelady much to go on, anyways; whether he liked it or not, they all called him 'The Doctor' anyway, and he rarely objected to be referred to as such.

"You still haven't told me why, Commander," the younger, dark-skinned Timelady across from him verbally nudged, arms crossed under her woollen trench coat. The War Doctor's eyes snapped to her expectantly, still silent.

"Why?" he inquired honestly. With all that he'd done, and all that he was doing, 'why' could be an easy question applied to many an unfair conundrum of the Time War.

"Ever since I started serving under you, sir," said Jacq. "we've travelled across the universe and back again on the Council's orders, bending time and space at the behest of the war effort. We've been blown up, shot at, crashed, imprisoned, run out of any halfway-decent tea shop in the Eye of Orion I care to recall..." A ghost of a smile appeared on the War Doctor's mouth at the mention of that last bit "...we've rewritten history, averted and caused disasters, and seen entire planets swallowed up in a mere instant. Yet, after all that, you always bring us back to this little cafe, here."

The War Doctor considered the observation, and gently nodded. He looked away.

He could feel Jacq begin to inwardly squirm with discomfort at his non-answer. Typical Timelord; all so literal, big words and little action, even these days.

"That woman over there is not from Florence," the War Doctor said. Jacq, young eyes curious, glanced around, trying in vain to appear as if she weren't desperately grasping for any context to his superior's cryptic riddles. The War Doctor saw this, and divulged a bit more. "Black hair, red dress. With the pearls."

Eyes focused and narrowed, Jacq did indeed spot the young woman in the rose red dress, her back to the sunset-shining river as she drummed her petite fingers on a cafe menu, sitting cross-legged. She looked awfully preoccupied, to her.

"She's from Messina, in Sicily," the War Doctor continued, analytically. Jacq was an ever-eager listener. "Her mother and father were secret collaborators with the Allied Powers when rumour circulated that Sicily would be invaded by sea. Saved quite a few families, either convincing the Allies to divert certain bombing runs or spiriting children and the elderly up-country. They were schoolteachers, and she was a doctor-"

"-like you?" Jacq's brown eyes were alight. The War Doctor paused for a moment before continuing.

"The Fascists didn't take too kindly to them being informants for the enemy, so they had them both disappeared by the Nazis. She managed to evade them, and by the time she was caught, the Allies had already taken Sicily. She was saved by an American soldier, a young man not unlike her, and they promised each other they would meet again. She stayed in Messina, aiding in reconstructing the city. He marched on, to fight up through Italy. That was three years ago."

Taking it all in with a nod, Jacq glanced between the War Doctor and the woman in red. All this detail wasn't adding up. "So, once things settled in Messina, she made her way up here? What brought her to a place like this?"

The War Doctor looked to Zax, and the younger Time Lord couldn't place what his eyes were saying. "A hunch," he said, simply. Jacq looked over to the woman in red again, but noticed she had moved.

He had noticed that the lady, now standing, looked down the cobbled street with an expression of absolute disbelief - not of shock, or horror, but utter, subtle surprise. A group of American soldiers, clad in their crisp, green uniforms (new and improved, since the war was won), stood in casual discussion at the threshold of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. They were calmly smoking cigarettes, chatting about one thing or another. He could pick out one soldier in particular from the line-up; red hair, messy and unkempt, with some vain attempts at some scruff around his chin. He looked no older than she did - well, than her current body did.

The woman in red had only made two steps forward when he spotted her. To which he responded in kind, breaking from the pack of his brothers-in-arms and bounding across the street, pushing past the swathes of pedestrians and fellow servicemen to take her into an embrace that looked like it would blast the both of them off through the stars.

Jacq looked to the War Doctor, mouth open, but he was already up and gone, hands in the pockets of his worn and beaten leather jacket. Jacq followed in tow.

"Going so soon?" she questioned. While she was thoroughly unfamiliar to a planet like Earth, and in all honesty, didn't take too kindly to its Human inhabitants - she felt that the Doctor often romanticised them in his stories than telling the cold hard truth; after all, while the touching embrace of two lovers long separated pulled at her heartstrings, she hadn't forgotten that there was a bloody conflict that left over sixty-odd million other members of their species for dead going on - she was starting to enjoy their occasional visits to Florence. "Any word from the Council? Why haven't I felt the summons?"

The War Doctor didn't look back. "You will, in a moment. Do try to keep up, Jacq."

"What? How do you-" she cut herself short, feeling the pulsating headache of the recall message through time and space wallop her right between the eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking in a sharp breath. "-ah, yes, right. Forgive me for the lag, Commander . . . I don't think I'll ever get used to the Council using my brain as a mailbox."

Around the corner of the cobblestone street was the TARDIS, in all its blue, police box-y battered glory. Jacq would never understand why the Doctor, even now, would allow his medium of transportation through the Time Vortex ever look so . . . frivolous. He didn't even refer to himself as 'The Doctor' anymore, why should he travel like him?

In the TARDIS, things had changed since the last incarnation of the Doctor had passed. The console was no longer of the gothic, steampunk-esque design of his predecessor. This one considered it too homely for his newly-acquired tastes, and present necessity. He wasn't an explorer or a romantic, Edwardian adventurer anymore; he was a soldier, and a soldier's controls he would have, however basic and utilitarian. The new room had originally been his secondary control room, it's old, bare white design having grown unhindered, pillars of corral and other formations shooting up from the floor to touch the ceiling. It served its purpose well, and he didn't care if it was pretty or not.

"Our orders, sir?" Jacq broke the silence as the two of them initiated the TARDIS' materialization circuits.

"Our primary objectives have been made secondary. There is another great danger lurking in the Vortex, one that may destroy the very fabric of space-time itself."

Jacq's eyes were wide. She couldn't imagine anything worse than what she had seen through the Time War. "What – what is it?"

The War Doctor's stare was ice cold. "Myself."


	3. The Light at the Start - Part 3

_A/N:_ _So the intro chapter was originally going to be in two parts, but with the addition of Doc 10 and the long War Doctor intro necessities meant that the true 'Classic' Doctors has to be moved to a third part. Next week will start the proper introduction of what this story truly means and where things will go from here, so until then, please enjoy some good Classics! I would like to thanks FFer_ _Wandering Browncoat_ _for the contribution of Eight and all his input from here on out. I'm also aware I changed the title of this story; I wonder if anyone noticed? Also, next week's chapter has the working title of 'The Eight Doctors' to spoil things for you lot…_

 _Disclaimer:_ _I own nothing…_

* * *

 **Chapter One - The Light at the Start, Part 3.**

"So... You need to take me to an alien planet to see the northern lights – why exactly is that, Doctor?" Charlotte 'Charley' Pollard asked, keeping pace with the Doctor as he raced around the console, pushing a random assortment of buttons and flipping several switches. She hadn't the foggiest what any of them did, but Charley trusted the Doctor implicitly, and the man knew his TARDIS like the back of his hand, so she focused instead on the look of almost child-like glee etched into his youthful face as he moved.

"If I wanted to see them, you could just as easily take me back home; my house was a manor in the country, so my sisters and I usually got a good view through the windows; we tried sneaking out of the house to see them once, but our mother caught us and sent us to bed, scolded and with no supper. They are beautiful though," she sighed dreamily, watching as the Doctor finally came to a stop across from her, his right hand suspended in the air above a big button. Charley watched with a bemused expression, being able to tell that he wanted nothing more than to slam his hand onto it... If there was one thing that the Doctor wasn't good at, it was resisting the temptation to push buttons, flip switches, pull levers or stay out of places with a 'Keep Out' sign attached.

"Oh Charley, Charley, what you saw through your bedroom window at night as a little girl will simply _pale_ in comparison to what I'm taking you to see now - the skies over the planet Etarean are like a constant glittering, cascading waterfall of colour, it's simply _marvellous_ to see! At the right time, you can reach out and run your fingers through it, and it feels like freshly powdered snow, only warmer, and it's been known to turn some people different colours. I was a dazzling emerald green for nearly a week once because of it, oh the looks I got..." he chuckled, flashing Charley a charming smile as she could only look on in silent astonishment.

She was never entirely sure if half of the things he came out with were the truth, but they certainly made for entertaining stories as she and the Doctor would sit down for tea and pastries in their rare off-time.

"So, are you going to push the button then? I assume that you've somehow set the co-ordinates you need into the TARDIS, and that pushing that button will take us where we need to go?"

"You assumed correctly Charley... Yes, the minute I push this button we're off to see rainbow skies the likes of which you have never seen before- Oh now, that's interesting, and not in a good way," he suddenly muttered to himself, slowly lowering his hand before moving a few steps to his right, his attention on something that Charley couldn't see from where she was standing.

"Doctor, what is it?" she asked as she moved around to join him, seeing that his attention was wholly focused on a small flashing LED light set apart from everything else on his cluttered console. "What's wrong? What does that mean?" she persisted, moving closer to him as he continued to simply stare at it like it was an unwelcome visitor.

"It means the Timelords are summoning me back to Gallifrey," he sighed, managing to sound both fed up and worried. It took Charley a moment to realize why he would need to be worried, and her face fell as she remembered.

"Oh Doctor, you don't suppose this is about our trip into that awful Divergent universe?" she asked, shuddering as she remembered what they'd had to endure upon their arrival.

"Hmm, I believe it will have more to do with their concerns regarding whether I am still infected with the anti-time particles," he responded, sounding and looking deep in thought as he contemplated the situation.

"But you aren't anymore! You made sure that you were free of them before we came back! Surely they're not going to do anything silly, like arrest you?" she demanded, suddenly starting to feel herself panic at the prospect. Her own encounters with the Timelords had been bittersweet indeed, and while she had walked away with no real grudges, she'd likely always find it difficult to trust them again.

"Yes Charley you're right, but they're not aware of that - it's likely that they found out the TARDIS had come back through the void and simply want to make sure that I no longer pose a danger to this universe or the people in it," he assured her, his voice back to its usual gentle and calming lilt.

"You never were a danger, at least not to me, no matter how much you insist otherwise," she retorted petulantly, resting her head on his shoulder and sighing wearily.

The Doctor smiled and said nothing, choosing instead to rest his head on top of hers for a moment and giving her time to get it out of her system, as was the best way to deal with Charley when she was scared or started to panic. Eventually he straightened up and gently nudged her away, moving to push some buttons and pull a couple of levers, cancelling out the co-ordinates he'd originally inputted for Etarean and putting in new ones – for Gallifrey.

"Well then, let's go and prove that to them shall we?" he asked before reaching over and grabbing one of her hands and guiding it to the big button he'd meant to push earlier.

He watched as her expression changed to the familiar Charlotte Pollard brand of determination that he was so used to, and she nodded encouragingly.

"To Gallifrey James!" she cried out.

"And don't spare the horses!" the Doctor finished, grinning at their in-joke as he slammed both of their hands down onto the button, stumbling and falling against each other as the TARDIS instantly shuddered to life, beginning her journey back to Gallifrey.

* * *

"Ace?" the young-ish adult male with a quiff of dirty blond hair and startlingly blue eyes wandered into the console room. "Where's y' got to?" he muttered to himself, moving over to the console and looking around with slight agitation, his eyes lingering on the panama hat sitting atop the Time Rotor. This only made him more agitated as he swiped the accessory off the pristine whatever-it-was-made-of and looked around for the hat stand. He groaned when he realised that that, too, had disappeared and resided to putting the hat upon his very own head. "You are messy sometimes, Doc" he muttered as his eyes lingered to the flashing LED upon one of the console panels. "Hang about…" he moved over to the light, "that's wasn't there earlier."

If he had known more about the TARDIS, how to work it and get into the various components to find out the identity of the light, Thomas Hector 'Hex' Schofield would have been nearer to the truth much quicker, but as it was all he could do was shout for the Doctor. Loudly.

It didn't take long for an answer to be called back, but in the form of Ace as she ran into the console room at top speed, ready for action. "What is it?" she looked around, ready for combat but instantly looked disappointed when only Hex could be seen. "I thought you were in trouble!" she complained.

"No need to look so glum!" Hex retorted fondly, "Besides, you never know we might be, but there's this funny light…"

"A light?" Ace raised her eyebrow. Although she still wore the combat jacket of old, the rest of her wardrobe had changed dramatically in the years following her run-in with the Master and now she preferred to support more simplistic clothes; a pair of jeans and simple black tee. Of course, she couldn't quite get away from her rebel days, especially when supporting some high class, hard-wearing boots – after all, you need good footwear when you live the Doctor's life – and of course, her treasured coat.

In fact, Ace's wardrobe greatly reflected that of Hex's own. He being a nurse by profession was used to, and comfortable with, the baggier of wardrobes and generally supported some casual dark trousers and long-sleeved tees with some classy converses to round off his totally nonchalant look. He liked it, so he didn't feel the need to change. But that was all relative as he folded his arms now in defence mode, about to point out the impossibilities of the light when the Doctor's head appeared around the interior doorway.

"Have either of you seen my hat…? Oh, there it is!" he strode into the room with purpose, removing the panama from Hex's head with ease as he turned to the two and questioned: "What are we doing in here then, hmm?"

"Hex here is complaining about a light" Ace responded dully, a small smirk on her face as she looked to the man she considered a brother, elaborating, "If you ask me, I think –"

"A light? Oooh, that _is_ interesting!" the Doctor moved over to the console, Hex about to explain about the light while scowling at the female, but interrupted by the Doctor's sudden change in tone.

"Oh, my-my-my, that can't be good!"

"Doctor? What is it?" their teasing laid to rest in an instant, both companions moved closer to the Doctor as he tapped the flashing light with concern.

"Well, this light… No. No it can't be… Must be nothing…"

"Doctor. We've known you long enough to know that 'nothing' is usually something" Hex pointed out.

"And usually something involving some big slimy reptilian creature from beyond the future's edge" Ace supplied as she added with thought: "Is it the Timelords?"

"Indeed it is" he answered thoughtfully, "only not the ones you think they may be."

"Eh?" Hex queried.

"Timelords, Mr Hex, are vastly complicated creatures! We stretch from one end of the universe to the other in no time and change in ways beyond the human imagination but –" Hex looked confused to Ace, who simply mouthed 'roll with it, he's rambling' in response to his concern, "– that doesn't mean we cannot meet ourselves once in a while."

"Meet yourselves? You mean like a meeting of Timelords?" Hex asked, trying to keep up.

"Something like that, yes. But this light is a warning, a message from Gallifrey, from my home. I must return there." He suddenly looked seriously – well, more serious than usual – at his companions, instructing with urgency: "The laws there are different to those on any other world, you cannot simply go gallivanting into the unknown or get yourselves in trouble. Until recently, anything non-Gallifreyian was condemned to walk on the very soil; that those who trespassed were forced back home, all memories of Timelords and Gallifrey removed. The High Council may be in an early stage of acceptance thanks to my very own self, but that doesn't mean that they won't take you from this life, remove all _your_ knowledge without _my_ knowledge of what has happened to you. So please, do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"

"Understood" Hex responded, almost automatically.

"Gotcha Prof" Ace nodded, doing her best to hide both the excitement of meeting more of the Doctor's people and her anger at what they were capable of.

"Good. Right – to Gallifrey we go!" the Doctor moved around he console, his umbrella hooked around one of the hand-levers as he moved around with precision, not noticing the two human's own anticipation as they simply looked to one another, concerned.

What trouble could one little light do?


	4. A Flock of Doctors

_A/N:_ _Sorry I didn't update this on Friday; I fell sick over the weekend and only just recovering now. Thought I'd update this story today and then give the regular update on Friday as promised. Also, I know I said this chapter was to be called_ 'The Eighth Doctors' _but got that confused with the chapter_ _after_ _this one. THIS chapter, as you can see, is comically titled_ 'A Flock of Doctors' _cos you know, funny. Hope you enjoy. Probably too much to ask for reviews but at least there are some follows and faves, which is something…_

 _Disclaimer:_ _Nothing is owned by me._

* * *

 **Chapter Two - A Flock of Doctors.**

"I suppose asking the two of you to wait behind while I check ahead is without cause?" the Doctor asked his two companions as the TARDIS stilled, now at their destination.

"We're coming with you Doc" Hex stated simply.

"Whether you like it or not" Ace added determined.

"Well I _don't_ like it, but never mind – you have been warned after all." Without further ado, the Doctor picked up his umbrella and moved over to the doors, stepping out into almost total darkness.

"It would have been nice for them to at least switch on the lights, or a lamp… even flame torches would do" Hex muttered, having followed behind the Doctor out of the TARDIS as the Timelord shushed him loudly.

"Timelords are quite the showmen –" the Doctor started.

"You're telling me!" Hex interrupted.

"Hex!" the Doctor warned. "No, I know this place…"

"You _did_ say it was Gallifrey" Ace pointed out, "so I would presume you knew all of it…"

"I didn't know you knew every city, town and village on Earth, Ace!" Hex pointed out quietly, wincing when the Doctor shushed them both this time.

"We're in the Court Ship" the Doctor muttered, confused, obviously concerned too.

"Is that supposed to mean something to us?" Ace asked, not worried about being shushed again.

"The last time I was here I was put on trial – I had to fight tooth and claw both the Gallifreyian Legal System and a dark manifestation of my future self."

"Sounds like your average day then" Hex muttered to Ace just as the lights chose that moment to flicker on, presenting them with a decorative corridor, some steps to the left and a set of double doors nearby.

"Hang on, does that mean you're on trial again?" Ace asked, now generally worried as the Doctor moved to the doors.

"Only one way to know, I suppose" the Timelord sighed, hitting the doors several times with the tip of his umbrella – the reverberating knocking sound surprising as in response the doors opened.

A young-looking woman dressed in royal Gallifreyian robes was then presented to them; her hair black, her skin pale, and her eyes a light tone of baby-blue. She was almost ethereal standing in the doorway, her wisdom visible as she smiled down to the Doctor.

"Ah, Romana!" the Doctor greeted pleasantly, bowing, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

" _President_ Romana, Doctor" was all the Timelord President stated, before correcting herself: "Doctors."

As if on cue, the sound of another TARDIS dematerialising met the trio's ears, all three turning to see another Police Box fading into existence, and then another, and another…

"Well, this just got interesting" Hex muttered, slightly shocked.

The door to the first – well second TARDIS, not including their current one – opened. A gaunt-looking older man poked his head out, glancing in their direction then retreated again, all four at the double-doors raising their eyebrows as the next TARDIS' door opened.

This time a man with short cropped hair withdrew himself. The Doctor with Romana looked him over with concern, knowing this was a future Doctor but worried now, troubled with what would make him let himself go so much – gone, it seemed, were the whimsical clothes he preferred and instead replaced with a black leather jacket, some form of under-jumper and black trousers. He hadn't worn black trousers in many lifetimes.

"Well, that answers that question" this new Leather-bound Doctor muttered, looking to the younger Doctor with a side-ways smile, moving from his TARDIS and followed by another man – quite a handsome man – who closed the door behind himself. "Before the War indeed" the Leathered Doctor commented, his eyes lingering on the Lady President before he corrected himself: "Well, maybe early in the War then, before…"

"Hello" the Leathered Doctor's male companion had reached the small group already, leaving his Doctor in contemplative reminiscence as he held a hand out to Ace, with his eyes flickering between her and Hex. "Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you two?"

"Captain!" the Leathered Doctor suddenly came to his own, moving forward purposefully as the Captain lowered his hand, like a dog told to obey. "Must you flirt with every Tom, Dick and Harriet you meet? Hello Ace, Hex – long-time no-see; I'm the Doctor – well, another Doctor. Him" he inclined his head toward their Doctor, the one with the umbrella who stood impassively and silently next to the President, both with their eyes fixed on this Doctor. They could sense his loss.

"Are you sure you wish to accompany me Charley?" a new Doctor's voice could be heard as a man with long hair and Edwardian attire exited the next TARDIS, he looking back within its depths. "I'm aware that our last encounter with the Timelords may not have endeared them to you so much."

"Of course I want to come with you Doctor – somebody needs to make sure that you're alright," the female inside the time machine retorted.

"Oh Charley, you don't need to do that, especially not here –" he was abruptly cut off when 'Charley' snapped back;

"I'm coming and that's final. Nothing you could possibly have to say will change my mind... Now come on, chop-chop and let's get this over and done with; you still owe me a trip to see dazzling rainbow skies after all!"

"Yes, yes, alright, you're quite right - I'd prefer to resolve this sooner rather than later so let's get going," he sighed, trying to sound enthusiastic for Charley's sake but not convincing the young woman in the slightest as she too now followed him out of the TARDIS, her eyes sweeping their surroundings.

"Doctor..." Charley suddenly whispered, tugging at his hand as he took everything in now.

"What is it Charley?" The Edwardian Doctor asked, sounding distracted as his eyes swept over the long corridor, eventually coming to a rest on the open set of large double doors not too far from where he stood, to the shorter man clutching an umbrella, the tall dark-haired Timelady and the others.

"But Doctor, that's –"

"Yes Charley, I'm aware," he ground out patiently, his eyes never leaving the small group assembled before him. There were also two very familiar faces accompanying his younger self, and the Doctor couldn't help but smile in their direction as he remembered them with some fondness.

"That's what I was trying to tell you though! Your TARDIS... There's more of them behind us, look!" she insisted, tugging at his hand again.

He glanced down at her quizzically before turning to look, and sure enough, there was his TARDIS... As well as four others, all standing in a neat line.

Turning back to face the small group in a daze, the Doctor gently pulled away from Charley and strode forward, stopping a few feet away from the President and greeting her with a low, sweeping bow.

"My apologies for my previous outburst Madam President, it's wonderful to see you again of course," he paused, winked to Romana, and then glanced back at the so-far gathered TARDISes, his gaze sweeping over his older self with the merest hint of a smile before looking back to Romana. "But I do believe we're owed quite the explanation," he finally added.

"I think we all do" the older Doctor with a deep Scottish accent, who had poked his head out of his TARDIS a minute ago had finally exited his Police Box, followed by a shorter, smug woman with a mess of golden-blond curls. Her eyes were wide as she silently took in the Edwardian Doctor, the Leather Doctor and the one with the question mark umbrella.

"Is he new?" Ace asked, not hiding her voice as she pointed to the Scottish Doctor, he raising his extremely large eyebrows to her.

"Yes, I believe he is," the Edwardian Doctor answered, forgetting who his companion was for a moment.

"Now, now Doctors – one at a time please!" Romana chimed up. "We're due a few more of you, but if you'd like to come into the courtroom so we can discuss in more privacy…?"

"Ah yes!" the Umbrella Doctor commented quickly, "because there are so many more Timelords out here that privacy must be hard to come by" he added, a little dryly as he pointed out the actual lack of other personnel in the corridor.

"Doctor…" Romana groaned, a hand now pitching the bridge of her nose but she chuckled.

"Lead the way Ms. President!" the Edwardian Doctor called, breaking off the distraction.

Romana nodded to the Doctor who had spoken as she moved aside, allowing the Doctors and their companions entrance to the empty courtroom, although all not willing to sit and wait – except maybe the earliest present incarnation as he took a backseat near the podium, a disgruntled Ace (whom had fought off the Leathered Doctor's companion with somewhat ease) and Hex perching on either side of him as he himself crossed a leg atop the other.

As the Leathered Doctor and the Scottish one made somewhat awkward introductions, the Edwardian Doctor definitely hearing some form of flirting coming from the eldest Doctor's companion who claimed to be a 'Miss Song'; he however was concerned, "Romana, the last time we crossed paths, the Divergent Universe –"

"Is part of my long-distant past and of no concern to the present" Romana cut off the Doctor, Charley letting off a breath of relief besides her Doctor as the latest incarnation of Romana gave them both a small smile, "what I have you all gathered for is of greater concern. We need to wait just a little bit longer, however…"

As if on cue two new people crossed the threshold of courtroom: a grizzled old man and a young dark woman. The old man took one glance around the gathered Doctors and companions before saying something inaudible to his female associate, they taking a pew closest to the door and waiting, as if in prayer – although both watching what was happening with somewhat enthusiasm. The Edwardian Doctor suddenly felt uneasy with this vision of his future and instead turned his attention to Miss Song, silently curious.

"Sorry I'm late!" the new call came from the door, this latest Doctor obviously not wanting to remain a mystery as all turned their momentary attention to see a Doctor with the strangest hair and chin stride in, he was followed by a smaller woman in a red shirt and black skirt, she looking mildly amused but also agitated by everything. "What's going on? River! I didn't expect to see you here!" he ran over to the gathering of Later-Doctors, leaving his companion behind as he went to hug the Scottish Doctor's Miss Song.

Removing himself from the embrace he then asked: "Why was I summoned? _How_ can I be summoned?" he directed this question more to the Leathered Doctor though, who obviously realised instantly what he was talking about.

"Tow-rope" was all he seemed to respond to get the latest Doctor's attention. The youthful Doctor nodded somewhat darkly as the Edwardian Doctor stepped forward, speaking loudly as he glanced back to his other selves, acting the spokesperson of all: "I hope you don't mind if we forgo the pleasantries Madam President, but judging by the urgency of this summons, I'm assuming that time is quite literally of the essence, so perhaps with a few more of myself in the room, now it's best if you tell us what prompted you to gather everyone together in the first place?"

" _You_ did" Romana replied simply, her expression anything but pleasant.

This staggered the Doctor – well most of the Doctors actually – somewhat, and for a foolish, absent-minded moment, the Edwardian one assumed that perhaps he was being called forth to be put on trial for something he had yet to do, or will shortly do judging by the percentage of Doctors gathered. Then he shed the notion and realized that Romana meant him as a whole – _The_ Doctor, not the specific individual incarnation.

"Would you care to elaborate Madam President?" the Scottish Doctor now spoke up, his voice a mask of calm despite the likely cold, nebulous feeling converging on all of him.

Romana moved away from the Doctors, over to the podium in which the Inquisitor so regularly took trials, her hand rubbing her eyes once more, the Edwardian Doctor noticing just how tired she looked, as she then looked slightly down on the Doctors – well apart from the one with the hat who was sitting on the same level as her now.

"It is your original self. The grumpy one" Romana stated. "The High Council has detected a force of great evil surrounding his time, surrounding _him_. It shouldn't be that way, of course, but we have observed him and… well, it's only a matter of time before this new reality takes hold and you all succumb."

"What kind of evil?" the Doctor in the podium with the two companions leaned toward Romana – a discomfort for Ace who sat on that side of him – with his head resting quite intuitively upon his umbrella's handle.

"Gallifrey has produced its fair share of poison into the universe, and it's two these whom have been influencing your past. In the guise of two… companions – Ian Chesterton and Barbra Wright. In this newly-created past both companions have been slain and their replacements have helped murder your own granddaughter; this has caused you deep grief and has caused you to be easily be led on the wrong path…."

"And dare I ask whom these evil individuals are?" the umbrella Doctor asked, seemingly unconcerned by the untimely death of Susan Foreman, he fascinated by his own past as the President looked to him directly now.

"The Rani" Romana hesitated, before sighing, "and the Master."


	5. The Eight Doctors

**Chapter Three - The Eight Doctors.**

"Did you just say 'The Master'?" a new incarnation of the Doctor stood outlined in the doorway; he was tall, skinny, with pointed hair and a pinstriped suit and the expression on his face a strange mix of sorrow and joy, as if he was devastated to hear this news, but pleased it was the Master and not someone else.

"And the Rani, yes Doctor" Romana directed this to the Doctor in the doorway, a red-headed woman in a purple dress stepping out from his shadow as she gasped at the gathered crowd.

"Are all these men… you?" she asked her Doctor, he turning to explain to her what was going on.

Meanwhile, Charley spoke up, still standing resolute next to her Edwardian Doctor "Who is this Master person exactly?"

"Somebody I hope you never have to meet" her Doctor responded gravely.

There was a sense the unease and frustration among the rest of the Doctor's gathered incarnations, all of them likely thinking back to the numerous times they'd gone up against the Master, risking their lives as well as the lives of others in order to bring him, and in the Scottish Doctor's time – _her,_ down. Despite it all, the Master just couldn't help but continue with his unrelenting vendetta against the Doctor it seemed, certainly not caring about the many innocent lives who would get in the way.

"And this 'Rani' person?" the companion Ace spoke up from the podium next to her Doctor and fellow companion, Hex.

"Someone similar to the Master, but slightly less dangerous" the eldest of the Doctors, with his Mohawk white hair and beard spoke up, still seated next to the doors and his companion, his voice as gruff as his features as the incarnations before him looked to him with curiosity, yet those after him ignored him like he didn't exist.

"She was – is? – a scientist" the Leathered Doctor chimed in, his focus solely on Ace now as he ignored his past incarnation, "I'm sure her brains helped the Master's brawn fix up the deaths of Ian, Barbara and, indeed Susan."

"What is it you would have us do in order to put a stop to them then, Madam President?" the Edwardian Doctor cut in.

"I think the answer to that is remarkably simple, Doctor" the Umbrella Doctor responded before Romana could. "We must prevent the deaths of poor Ian and Barbra, stop the Master and Rani at the source and make sure our old friends never try this sort of manipulation again!"

"I'm afraid it's gone beyond that now" Romana finally got the chance to speak, "as the duo has been in control for too long now. Prevent your companions' deaths, yes, but you cannot stop the Master and Rani from taking their place."

"Ah yes of course. We must make the pair think they've won. Which leads to question of what happens to our past self?" the Scottish Doctor speculated aloud now.

"You must stop yourself from doing anymore evil, yes" Romana replied, "or else the whole universe will be in jeopardy – your own selves rewritten –"

"Yes, yes, we get the idea!" the Scottish Doctor snapped, now looking over at his other selves, obviously thinking things through.

"If there's anyone who can snap sense into you it's us" the one called Jack Harkness spoke up now, unafraid of the overwhelming amount of Doctors around him, "Doctors, you all know yourselves, your thoughts and hopes – you can use your logic; and the rest of us have managed to connect with you before, in our own ways. If we can enforce that bond with your original incarnation, he can see the goodness in himself again."

"So what, drag this 'Original Doctor' out of his own darkness kicking and screaming?" the redheaded companion asked dubiously, trying to keep up with what was being said, what was happening. Her Doctor meanwhile was grinning directly at Jack, who winked back at him but said no more.

"Yes of course..." the Edwardian Doctor agreed aloud, speaking louder now as he seemed to come to a conclusion of his own. He shared this with the group: "Right, everyone, I know that it's easier said than done but I think we need to find a solution quicker than we speak of it. We know the basics of what needs to be done in order to combat this darkness, and I believe it would be prudent for us to separate into groups and be assigned a specific task regarding these events."

He spun around to face President Romana and the small group now gathered around her on the podium. "What say you to that, Madam President?"

"Well personally, I think it best to find out which incarnation we all are" the Umbrella Doctor spoke before Romana could answer; she sighing but used to the constant interruptions of the Doctor against himself. "You lot are all from my future I can tell, so it's safe enough of you all to know that I'm the Seventh. The rest of you" the Seventh Doctor's eyes lingered on the currently-silent floppy-haired Doctor, "are all a happy mystery to me! After that of course, I do believe it best to go forth with the plans suggested: Several parties of Doctors, one to locate our corrupted original incarnation, another to save our friends from their unexpected fate and maybe another to track the Master and Rani's movements – even in the guise of Ian and Barbra they wouldn't have stayed with our First Incarnation for longer than needed…"

"I suppose I better start then, maybe work backward?" the Scottish Doctor was grinning around now, in spite of the situation. "I'm the Twelfth – well technically I'm in a whole new regeneration cycle, but for the purpose of simplicity, I'm the Twelfth Doctor… and this is River Song; someone very special to all of us, you'll all find out" he officially introduced his companion to the throng of Doctor.

"Tenth here" the suited Doctor spoke up the moment the Twelfth was done. "And this is Donna Noble and he must be the Eleventh Doctor?" he pointed to the one in the bowtie, who was smirking at the Tenth Doctor now.

"Indeed. And probably the most handsome of Doctors in this room, if I do say so myself. And as we're introducing our friends – Clara Oswald" the girl with this Doctor seemed to blush as she gave a small wave to the other Doctors.

"Which makes me the Ninth Doctor then" the Leathered Doctor pointed out simply, "and if you didn't catch it, this strapping fellow is Captain Jack Harkness."

"Time Agent. Well, Rouge Time Agent" Jack pointed out, speaking in his most sly American tone.

"Boeshane Peninsula?" the remaining un-numbered Doctor asked, Jack nodding as the Ninth added; "A pleasure to meet you again, Doctor – you're the Doctor who came before me. Well, sort of."

"Indeed, I'm the Eighth and this is Charley Pollard – only you don't know that though" he turned back to the Seventh Doctor who smirked down at him from the podium he still sat. "Say hello to everyone Charley" Eight suddenly asked his companion.

"Oh, er –" Charley started, but fell silent due to the tell-tale sound of a materialising TARDIS suddenly filling the chamber, the wind from its imminent arrival causing a few people to take a step back as it appeared not too far from the podium, almost in the direct centre of the room.

"Another one?" The Eighth muttered, standing still and watching as the large blue box finally materialised fully, standing dormant for a moment before the door opened and another Doctor emerged...

His very first incarnation.


	6. A Thing of Guile

**Chapter Four - A Thing of Guile.**

Nobody said anything.

The entire room had gone completely silent, and everyone was suddenly tense and on edge, poised to make a move should anything go wrong.

The old man trudged over to the main podium, not looking at anyone as he did, stopping just before and glancing up at President Romana with an almost nonplussed, bored look on his face. He turned slowly, his eyes moving over everyone in the room as he took everything in, the expression on his face never changing as he finally decided to address the court.

"I have to say, if this is my future then I am very disappointed indeed," he drawled, lifting a gnarled hand and pointing at everyone in one swift arching motion, "You look ridiculous, all of you; what a collection of fools and jesters!" he continued unabashed.

"Doctor, _please_..." Romana interjected anxious, stopping when he raised a silencing finger "That's enough from you, you ignorant, foolish woman," he spat, eliciting a few sounds of protest from the group.

"Silence!" he yelled "Silence, all of you! Look at you, gathered together as if you could actually hope to achieve something... Pointless, utterly pointless; wasting time trying to prevent the inevitable rather than making it easier for yourselves and simply accepting it."

"And what is that exactly?" The Eighth asked, starting to slowly edge back towards Charley, acting the group's sole voice once more.

"Why, the darkness within you of course," the First Doctor replied as if talking to a small child. "Don't be fooled into thinking you can stop it – just remember, I _am_ you, and you are all me, and whether you wish to admit to it or not, there has _always_ been a darkness buried deep within you... Some perhaps more so than others," he added with a sneer, glancing to the eldest of later Doctors who had yet to reveal his own number to the group.

"You can try and fight it, push it down, humanize yourself by carting around these people who are nothing more than glorified _pets_ , but in the end it shall all be in vain; you will succumb just as I have, and only then will you truly be able to realise your full potential. Just imagine everything you have ever denied yourself because it was wrong, forbidden or against the rules... You could have it all, you could bathe in power like you've never imagined and nobody would ever attempt to rule your life again..." he finished, indicating over to Romana for that added touch of dramatic flair.

"I will leave you all to your thoughts considering the matter as I have places to visit, people to see and a life to live without fear of being reprimanded. Good day to you all" the First casually intoned as he strolled back to his TARDIS and closed the door behind him. Moments later it began to dematerialise before disappearing completely, leaving naught but the echo of its familiar noise in its wake.

By this point, the Eighth Doctor had reached Charley, who was now gripping his arm in a vice like grip and staring up at him with wide, worried eyes. He flashed her an unconvincing smile before looking around at everyone as only one thought passed through his mind, a thought that he knew everybody else would be thinking as well: Run to the TARDIS and track him down.

"Let's go!" The Eighth called out, grabbing Charley's hand and going to make his way through the throng of Doctors and companions gathered together, hoping against hope that none of them would be too late...

It seemed the other Doctors, however, had the same idea as the Eighth as the more recent Doctors – Ten, Eleven and Twelve – began to follow the Eighth Doctor in earnest, only to all be stopped in their tracks by a bellowing cry from the earliest present incarnation: "No – _wait_!" the Seventh Doctor bellowed, causing poor Hex next to him to jump before looking bashful to Charley, whom he'd been glancing to continuously despite the current circumstances. "We cannot go rushing off all willy-nilly and Doctor-like! Romana, can you track the First's current whereabouts? Yes? Good! Right, Doctors, we must agree to a _plan_ yes?"

He had wrapped the attention of his later selves as he spoke more resignedly, directing his attention at different Doctors individually as he next spoke. "As before, two of us should follow the First, another two or three should track the Master and Rani in their companion-guises while the remains should go and rescue the real Ian and Barbra _before_ their deaths – and Susan's, of course – but make sure that the Master and Rani of that point believes to have killed our old friends, agreed?"

He now looked directly to his Eighth self, standing now as he bounced on the balls his feet, eager to go in spite of his speech. "You and I shall track the First, agreed?"

"Yes, that sounds like a feasible plan to me," the Eighth responded, glancing down to Charley who seemed confident with the plan too, her grip now slackened on his arm.

Looking around, it seemed the other Doctor were indeed thinking ahead: The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors were mingled together, while the Ninth Doctor seemed to be glancing at the unknown Doctor with something resembling resigned resentment.

"Other Doctors may join you on your plight" Romana spoke up, she too noticing the Ninth Doctor's attitude to being left with this other leather-cladded Doctor.

"Very well" the unnumbered Doctor spoke up, glanced to his companion and without another word moved off, the Ninth rolling his eyes at his own companion before following, hands in pockets and with a slight slouch, reminding his younger self of a popular child asked to play with the new kid.

"Good, very good yes!" the Seventh spoke up, noticing action being taken as he moved from the podium he had occupied with his male companion, joining his next incarnation but addressing those still remaining, "Now remember, as usual time is literally of the essence here, we cannot afford to dilly dally or waste even a moment; we must be strong and above all else, remain vigilant! As our first self so eloquently put it, he is us and we are him, so always be on your guard!" he finished, turning to glance over at President Romana who nodded and stepped down from her podium too.

"I have transferred all of the information you will need to your TARDISes in order to complete your assigned tasks Doctor," she began, addressing everyone remaining rather than one individual "Be forewarned – if you fail in your task, the High Council of Timelords will have no choice but to step in and intervene ourselves... and if that means having to put an end to _all_ of you, then we shall do it," she warned, her voice full of authority yet sounding weary and tired, not wanting to result to this for her friend.

"How do we keep in touch?" the Eleventh Doctor suddenly voiced, adding: "Oh, and just a thought, for the two chasing our original self, if you prevent him from regenerating, it should act as a temporary block from continuity. So stop him from regenerating at all costs" the thought was a simple one there – if he doesn't become the next incarnation, none of the following corrupt. Naïve, yet effective.

"We should be able to communicate with our TARDISes alternatively, and we can meet back here when we are done?" the Tenth Doctor suggested, "As the timelines are no longer in sync until we part ways, we can avoid minimal damage to the timeline" he grinned, pleased with himself, Donna smirking too besides him, intrigued by all the Doctor-ness around her.

"Yes, the TARDIS can be rerouted into contacting itself within its own timeline – this is the best way in which to commune with one another." Seven agreed on a whole, the Tenth Doctor nodding to him as, business done, he and his later incarnations began to move out of the room.

"Right, Mr. Eight – I believe to work together we must maintain constant –"

"Er, Doc?" the Seventh Doctor looked around, seeing Hex standing on his lonesome, "Ace just left with another one of you!" the boy exclaimed, panic trying not to emanate from his voice.

"Which one?" the Seventh questioned, slightly concerned.

"The one with the leather jacket? The Ninth, I think he addressed himself" Hex responded.

"Hmm… Maybe this is good –"

"Good? How is that good?!"

"Because" Seven leaned in to his male companion, "I have a nasty suspicion toward my future and it would be a good idea if Ace sussed that out."

"But isn't that a bad thing? Knowing your own future?"

"Who knows? But have faith, Mr. Hex, she's with me – she's fine!"


	7. Benefit of the Doubt

**Chapter Five - Benefit of the Doubt.**

"Can you _believe_ he was there?" the Eleventh Doctor stomped into his TARDIS, storming up to the console with anger boiling inside him.

"Who?" Clara moved in more elegantly, her arms still folded in a lame act of protecting herself from all that had just happened in the court room. "One of the other Doctors? That Harkness fellow…?"

"He means the one who didn't speak of his identity, the grizzled Doctor in a battered old jacket" the Twelfth Doctor had followed the pair into the Eleventh's TARDIS, he not paying attention to the décor he knew so well as he looked to his past incarnation with something resembling intrigue.

" _He is not the Doctor_!" Eleven snapped back at his future, not looking up as he leaned against the console, Clara moving over to him cautiously as yet another voice entered the fray.

"What he did wasn't in our name" it was the Tenth Doctor now, behind him was Donna and River Song – they hadn't spoken as they followed him in, but both wore similar looks of worry.

"No. What he did he _had_ to do – it's what he's doing now" Twelve pointed out levelly.

"Why are you so keen on him?" Eleven suddenly moved from the console and rounded on the Twelfth Doctor, his finger pointed at the man's nose. "Why are you so willing to give him the benefit of the doubt?"

"Because" Twelve sighed; he'd debated telling his past these spoilers since the moment he allocated himself into their 'team' but knew he would never get their favour if they couldn't trust him and his decisions as much as the War Doctor's own decisions, "soon, for both of you, you will be faced with the choice to accept your past choices without fear or anxiety, to claim that past as your own and then – _only then_ – will you be able to move forward with your life, with a new task and a new adventure ahead of you."

" _He blew up Gallifrey_!" Eleven shouted, as if that alone should have shocked the Twelfth Doctor into submission and his way of thinking.

"No. Gallifrey exists. It's outside that door right now. Well, a part of it anyway" Twelve responded, almost arrogantly.

"He killed millions" Ten pointed out, his forced calm matching that of the Eleventh Doctor's anger.

"For the sake of billions, trillions even" Twelve responded, he not even thinking to the same thoughts of the two Doctors of his past. His War Incarnation may not have destroyed his home planet, but his war crimes alone cost the lives of, indeed, millions. "Besides, can you honestly say you haven't got the blood of the innocent on your hands too, both of you?" he pointed out before either could respond.

"That's not fair" this time it was Clara who spoke, she clever enough to catch on as to what the Doctors meant with this un-numbered incarnation. "What he's done" she nodded to her Doctor, "he's done because he had no choice, he's tried to save as many lives as he may have accidently lost. He's definitely saved more than… well, it's not easy this life, is it?" she pointed out to the room.

"Which only backs up what I mean about him" Twelve responded to Clara now, "The Doctor, as a whole being, as a person, does all he can to stop the worst from happening; we stop Daleks, the Cybermen, Sycorax, Ice Warriors – you name it – from destroying or enslaving planets, galaxies, even the universe. What he did is no different –"

"How?" the Tenth asked, "How is it different from what we do?"

"Oh give it a break you three!" River Song now spoke up, causing all three Doctors to look to her.

"Yeah, what does it matter what some element of your past has done?" Donna now pointed out, "He's not you anymore, you don't need to explain away your mistakes, just move forward. You've got a task at hand, yeah? Stop this Master and Rani person from killing your old friends? Why don't you do that?"

"I knew I liked you" River now spoke up, grinning at Donna as she too rounded on the three Doctors. "We've been tasked by your Seventh self and President Romana _herself_ to find Ian and Barbra and somehow figure out how to prevent Susan's death while making sure the First of you doesn't catch on, remember?"

"Yes, I remember!" Eleven remarked, glaring now at River as his Tenth incarnation sighed: "Fine. Okay, but I won't trust _him_ should he turn up again."

"And what about me? The War Doctor sympathiser?" Twelve asked as both Doctors turned to glare at him.

"If you're working with us, we have no choice but to work with you" Ten now voiced.

"And trust him" River intoned. "He's very much worth trusting, take my word for it…"

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you?" Ten now rounded on her as he marched over to her also, no longer containing himself to a level-voice.

"Spoilers" she simple replied.

The Tenth Doctor would have shouted at her now had it not been for the sudden laughter. Turning around he noticed both his future selves were actually almost giggling to what River had just said, while he couldn't make heads or tails of.

"You really do try and slip that in anywhere, don't you, Professor Song?" Eleven asked lightly now.

"I try" River winked.

"Okay then. I trust him, I mean you" Eleven turned to his future-self, River's attitude had obviously changed something in him as he added to his past self, "which means two against one, Doctor – sorry."

"Outnumbered by myself. Only for a Timelord would that make sense" Ten moaned, unable to help himself as he sighed once more, moving over to the console. "Right. So, when is it best to access Ian and Barbra? I have a thought on how to save them, but it depends on the Master or Rani's means of killing. If it's the Master that we remember –"

"– he'd use his Tissue Compression Eliminator" Twelve remembered, somewhat fondly.

"Although Rani may want to dissect, which could prove troublesome. I think we may have to contact Nine to let us know what he can get from our old Academy mates once he gets to them" Eleven contributed.

Behind the three Doctors, his three companions gathered bemusedly. It was Donna who spoke first to her other two compatriots.

"You may have somehow convinced my Doctor of who you are, but not me, _Professor_ " Donna hissed to the curly-haired woman.

"Isn't it obvious?" Clara groaned, smirking to River now as both women glanced to her curiously. "She's his wife! Of course I thought 'Professor Song' was a husband when he spoke of you, but the Doctor hasn't exactly been one for gender specifications…"

"Husband…?" River almost choked as she looked over to the three at work. "Remind me to have a word with one of them later."


	8. The Un-Doctor

_Note:_ _Sorry for not updating last week; I'd lost internet for the best part of a week and only re-gained it on Wednesday so thought it best just to wait until Friday and do an update as normal and continue from today. Anyway, I'm coming the end of adapting the RP so am questioning bothering putting the effort into actually writing from point-blank as there seems little to no interest here. I've got the next chapter sorted, but after that_ _ **it's up to you guys to make me write more. PLEASE review or PM me (or both) if you're interested in my continuing this story**_ _and if there's enough interest then I will. If not, then chapter seven will be the last. For those of you who don't know I've started writing SuperFlash (Supergirl/Flash) fanfictions and by not writing this, I can concentrate on that, so… yeah. Anyway, enjoy what may be the second-to-last chapter!_

 _Disclaimer:_ _I own nothing in the Whoniverse._

* * *

 **Chapter Six – The Un-Doctor.**

Ace had found herself with the wrong Doctor.

It was a tricky situation, even if her Doctor had asked her to go with one of the other incarnations, but now that she stood in the foreign console room, with the Ninth Doctor and his flirter of a companion – Captain Jack; she kind of wanted to be back with her Doctor and Hex, even if that was a direct disregard to Seven's orders.

Still, she had to get on with it. Somehow.

Pulling up some courage in the strangely silent TARDIS as the Ninth Doctor moved around his unusual and coral-like console while Jack watched him in worry, Ace voiced: "So, are we going after the Master and Rani? If so we should be prepared; I haven't met this Rani person, but last time I met the Master he was behind the deaths of an entire planet just for his own personal gain. That Scream painting…" she shuddered, thinking back to this incursion before Hex joined her and the Doctor, "of course, he was also behind the kidnapping of a lot of my old school friends and that Cheetah world. He must be stopped if he's now going after and changing the Doctor – I mean, you!"

"Yes he must, but we don't know where he, or the Rani, are or at what point to track them" the Ninth Doctor responded distractedly – Ace could tell being paired up with that other leather-clad incarnation was putting him off his game, even if she didn't know this Doctor. So the question was, who exactly was _that_ Doctor? They seemed to be a numerical order, from her Doctor to the Twelfth, so was he an earlier one? If so, why wasn't her Doctor or the one after affected like this? Her Doctor seemed remarkably unfazed by all the faces he didn't know.

And he hadn't known that face either…

Before anyone could actually respond to the Ninth Doctor there was a loud hiss of static on the monitor, and a somewhat arrogant voice stated to all: "Well, I think that is obvious – their last known location with our converted earliest preceding incarnation, obviously!"

"Who…?" Ace asked, moving to the screen as Nine visibly groaned; a man with a mess of curly blond hair and a permanent snotty expression finally came into focus as Ace stood back, "another Doctor?"

"Another? What do you mean 'another'? My dear girl I _am_ the Doctor, just as that bloke with the big ears is the Doctor and the one with the grey hair and beard is the Doctor. Hold on a moment…"

"Why –?" Ace started as the Ninth Doctor's control room suddenly changed around her and her head began to spin. Jack and his Doctor vanished, only to be replaced by the blond Doctor and his white control room – which was the same room as her Doctor's TARDIS. So that meant…

"I do apologise, my girl, but I had to get a better look at you" the blond Doctor seemed to have replaced the Ninth incarnation. "You obviously aren't an associate of that Doctor. Oh, and the effects of the time scoop will wear off – it was the only way to get you from there to here; to locate a singular point in my possible future, namely you, and drag it kicking and screaming into my own timeline. Strictly speaking it's against Timelord laws but –"

"When needs must, yes?" came the graveling voice of the 'grey haired and bearded' Doctor who, as Ace turned to look at the monitor familiarly on the wall while leaning on the console with shaking legs, was part of a split-screen operation, sharing the camera with the Ninth Doctor's distracted face, the Eighth and Seventh Doctors – currently watching this conversation with silent curiosity – in a large console room, and the three newest ones, who like the earlier Doctors were sharing a TARDIS and seemed to have their monitors on mute as they ignored the events of their past selves and seemed to be arguing _among_ themselves. Typical Doctor. Perhaps they remembered it all so weren't bothered with listening in too?

"When were you ever obedient to the rules?" Ace muttered now, mesmerised by all the Doctor and trying to shake away the sudden headache. "I presume you're Six?"

"Six? _Six_?! I told you…!" the Sixth Doctor groaned, raising a hand to pinch his nostrils in frustration as he continued, "but yes, if we must go about labelling every incarnation, I am the Sixth Doctor. The better Doctor you could say…"

"Nice coat" Ace smirked at the rainbow jacket the blond Doctor was wearing.

"Yes well" he avoided her comment, moving back to the monitor to address the Ninth Doctor. "President Romana has provided me with the information required, I would have joined in the rabble earlier but I've only just this second come from my own trial, well not mine, more like a future self – I won't go into details you must already know about, but we need to find the Master and the Rani, yes? Well according to the Council records, the last place they were seen with our manipulated counterpart was on Earth, of course. Better place to start than any would you say?"

"Which time period?" the grizzled Doctor asked warily on his part of the monitor.

Six looked to the readings he had on the small screen fused with the console, which itself was about seven square inches. "2164. It seems they're at the pinnacle of the Dalek invasion" he commented, a slight quiver of anxiety to his voice now.

"Daleks" the grizzled one responded angrily, "why is it _always_ bloody Daleks?"

"It's not always… Which one are you exactly, anyway?" Six now asked, his curiosity obviously getting the better of him as Ace noted Nine moving away from his own positon on the monitor, obviously not wanting to be part of this bit of revelation. Which meant Nine, at least, knew who this Doctor was.

Silence fell, and for a moment Ace wondered if this man was going to answer at all as his expression turned stony. Then, with a low breath, the greying Timelord began, his eyes as conflicted as they were cold.

"I am the one, it seems, that you chose to forget, and rightly so, I'd imagine. I am the one who made the choice to fight in the Last Great Time War, and forsake the name of The Doctor. I am..." the grizzled Doctor trailed off, obviously fighting to figure out another fitting analogy. He glanced into the screen, directly at the Eighth Doctor "...probably not the one you were expecting," he finalised, a verbal jab at one of his direct predecessor's final words, that dark day above Karn. He'd yet to have even uttered it, he knew though.

"For the sake of streamlining things a bit, I'm the one after the Eighth, and before him, to be concise" the old Doctor nodded to his own screen, indicating the Ninth Doctor's part of the screen. "Lady President Romana, of course, allowed me a quick peak at your dossier before I joined in on this jaunt; not to worry, I didn't spoil anything for myself, though the President had said I might be a bit... unwelcome, amongst the later ones." At this, his dark female companion just behind him, gave the man a look of great worry, but she didn't speak; her Doctor hadn't even bothered to introduce her yet, anyway.

"That's all very good and well" Six stated, a little taken aback by this speech, "but what exactly do we _call_ you? 'The One Between Eight and Nine' is a bit of a mouthful, if you don't mind me saying." He had a point.

"Call him the un-Doctor if you must" the Ninth Doctor had returned to his console, and indeed his point on the screen; he was looking all too weary as he glowered down upon the Doctors he was in communication with, obviously angry that this 'un-Doctor' was even part of events.

The grizzled Doctor, however, couldn't help but chuckle. "Un-Doctor? I quite like that. Very well, while you lot can keep your numerical naming, I shall remain 'The Un-Doctor' and suit that title quite gracefully" it was only now that the view of the Seventh and Eighth Doctor's image flickered into static – the latter of those two Doctors verbalising that he'd had enough of his future as he concentrated more on his present – leaving just the Un-Doctor with Nine, Six and the silent latter Doctors.

"Well, _that_ didn't go too well" Jacq, the Un-Doctor's companion muttered from besides her Doctor.


	9. Two Rebellious Classic Doctors

_Note:_ _Well, as there were only two requests for me to continue this I'm afraid to announce this the end, or at least is the last chapter for the foreseeable future. Maybe when Who is back on our screens next year there will be a greater influx of interest and I'll continue – I may even find a way to bring in new companion Bill if the mood takes me. Anyway, I think it to start an undeterminable pause on some good ol' Classics. The forgotten Doctor, if you will…_

 _Disclaimer:_ _I own nothing._

* * *

 **Chapter Seven – Two Rebellious Classic Doctors.**

Knowing his own TARDIS would be safe in the Court Ship, Seven felt no harm in leaving it behind as he coaxed Hex into joining him in his successor's welcome TARDIS _("Trust me Hex, she'll be fine.")._

As he moved over the threshold and into the time machine, he raised an eyebrow at the vast size of the interior – the steps up immediately from the door, the console located just off-centre within the room from his judgement, a large area of reflection and reading and the Gallifreyian symbols adjourning the walls. "Oh, well dear me you've redecorated indeed!" he responded to Eight's welcome grandeur, "You know, I do in fact like it this time round."

Eight chuckled in response to Seven's comment, voicing his genuine shock, "I believe that's the first time a previous incarnation has given his seal of approval to a new design!" he laughed, opting not to tell Seven that he was in fact the one who had changed the interior _before_ regenerating into himself... He would of course figure it out in his future – _if we all have one that is_ , a voice from the darkest recesses of his mind whispered, much to his anger and disapproval as he chose to studiously ignore it and put his mind to the task at hand. Pulling the viewing screen towards himself, he noticed that he was receiving a communication.

Indicating for Seven to join him in watching as, together they saw the conversation unfold between a gruff and haggard looking old man, their future Ninth incarnation and the surprise appearance of the Sixth Doctor in his Technicolor Dreamcoat, much to both Doctor's shock.

"Woah!" Hex was still taking in the expansive console room from the threshold as he asked absently, "why can't we have this this instead, Doc? I mean, I don't mind the white console room… but –" but whatever concerned his young companion Seven never discovered as at that moment the young female companion of the Eighth Doctor moved over to him, Hex instantly distracted.

"It occurs to me that we haven't been formally introduced - I'm Charlotte Pollard, but everyone calls me Charley," she said, extending a hand to the much taller man, "and you don't need to stand there; you're very much welcome to explore the rest of the room should you wish" she smiled to him, blushing slightly.

"Hex" he responded almost automatically as he took her hand, smiling the most perfect gentlemanly smile, "well really it's Thomas Schofield, but I picked up the nickname 'Hex' in school and it's just… stuck since." He let his had fall back to his side momentarily as the shake concluded. Finally, he folded his arms and looked over to the two Doctors, "How did you end up with the Doctor anyway, if you don't mind me asking? For me it involved Cybermen at the place where I worked and me being over-curious. That, and I really fancied… well. Here I am now anyway."

"Cybermen? Oh dear! Well, mine is an interesting story to say the least..." Charley responded, moving with Hex now, away from the doors and to the seating area, leaving their Doctors be for now. "Have you ever heard of the Airship R101 that crashed over France in 1930?"

"R101?" Hex responded instantly to Charley's enquiry, "Yeah, I covered that in school, only a few lessons but man oh man, I never dreamed – even now – that the Doctor was involved with that, let alone I'd be talking to a survivor? Time travel: real trippy stuff" he couldn't help but grin at this, looking back over to the Doctors, who it seemed were getting on like a pair of rebellious teenagers.

"Yes, well" Charley hid her shock that such a devastating event could be covered so freely in a class lesson as she explained further, "I had grown bored and weary with my life, so I decided that I was going to run away and have exciting adventures; my first stop was the R101 - I snuck on board and pretended to be a male crew member, but was found out not long after take-off... That's when I met the Doctor," she sighed almost wistfully at that point. "A lot of strange things happened, and in the end, the Doctor took me off the airship before it crashed; he saved my life," she explained, choosing not to divulge the fact that she was supposed to die to someone who was still a virtual stranger.

At that moment the still and silent Eighth Doctor, whom had been watching a selection of his past and future with his prior incarnation spoke up, addressing the one whom had been dubbed 'Un-Doctor' to the group: "I asked for a warrior, and if a warrior is what I got then I do not care to know the finer details if it's all the same to you," he stated bluntly, punching a button and pushing the screen away from them when his predecessor was finished talking.

"Have you travelled with him for very long?" Charley suddenly spoke up at top-speed, keeping herself and Hex distracted from the sudden change of mood from the console area.

"What do you think?" Eight forced calm now as he asked Seven by the console, "do you believe he could be of use? This 'Un-Doctor' and our rather questionable future selves?"

"Well, I always say that two heads are better than one" Seven theorised, "and in this case eight Doctors are better than seven. Of course, ideally we could do with all our known forms, especially at the uniqueness of this situation, but we'll make do. It is fascinating though, don't you think, seeing into our future? Well, maybe not the immediate future, but to know, for instance, that we're granted a new set of regenerations! I wonder what horrors we did to be trusted with that?" It was a joke, but there was a slight tone to his voice which suggested a morbid curiosity of what was to come.

"Fascinating and terrifying perhaps," Eight sighed in response. "What could we possibly have done to warrant the Timelords bending all of their rules, putting aside their general disdain for us and granting us a second chance at it? We've saved the universe itself on countless occasions and never gotten so much as a 'thank you', or even an acknowledgement for our efforts, so it gives me pause to think that why the Timelords would do that... It's very worrying indeed, but something that we shouldn't dwell on with the task at hand, yes?" he concluded.

"Indeed" Seven replied, "Now, if you wouldn't mind?" he indicated the console, moving close to it even before Eight gave him permission – after all, why would he need to give himself permission? – and tapped in a few commands, the screen which had mostly presented the future now coming up with that of President Romana. "This is the Doctor calling Lady Fred – well, two of them anyway – can you send information to this TARDIS regarding our Original's current location? Thank you" Romana nodded, ignoring the reference to an old nickname as the information came through to the Eighth Doctor's console.

It seemed that their twisted former self was doing his best to keep himself hidden from the information Romana had provided; even so, tracking an earlier form of this very TARDIS, however cloaked and changed, was remarkably easy – that and the High Council was keeping a watchful eye on every incarnation, it seemed.


End file.
